3 Weeks Post Op

Order of photos:
3 hours after surgery
4 days post op
1 week post op
2 weeks post op
2 weeks & 1 day post op
2 weeks & 3 days post op
3 weeks post op

A little info on the incision: Again... the white tape strips, are steri strips (they are like a heavy duty tape).. that was the only thing holding her incision together. The dark blotches in the middle under the strips is just dried blood, scabs forming. As you can tell after they came off there are no sutures or staples under the tape. There is sutures inside/under the incision, those are to close other layers.
The process of steri strips coming off: Dr. Rekate told me it can take a week to week in a half. Kay's took 3 weeks... I didn't rush them. I've been told the longer they stay on, the smaller the scar line will be. How they come off.... and personally after reading other peoples posts in groups, and what not ... I think are process was the best. Steri strips are very sticky... they will stay stuck for awhile, I have heard some ripping them off... which I would think that would cause irritation to the incision, could even inflame it some. Our process was every time we washed her head, I would allow her to soak her head for awhile. With doing this, they began to loosen. One the day of "2 weeks & 1 day"... all the edges of the steri strips were loose, the only thing that was holding them on, was the dried blood/scabs in the middle. The steri strips begin to curl up on the top and bottom of the strip, and then you just check to see if they gently peel off. On that same day, there was one in the middle, and a few on the bottom that came off. The rest were still on, so we left them. Then a couple days later... the whole section of the middle came off. And as this week had gone on... different areas would follow.
So she has no complaints of it being painful... I do know it is tender, and expect it to be that way for awhile. So we are very gentle when combing her hair out after we wash it. I am still washing it, all though she is able to shower on her own... I prefer to make sure that area is gently done, and all soap residue comes off. She does complain it is very itchy, and is on Zyrtec for that. You can notice towards the bottom of the incision that it looks a little more red and blotchy... that's the itchiest area, I have sent pics to Dr. Marcy & Dr. Rekate, to see if they want me to give her something else for the itchiness, or maybe a cream. I also asked Dr. Rekate about applying vitamin E oil to the incision area. I have been told that vitamin E oil, will help the scar line, and break up scar tissue build up underneath. We will wait to see what he replies.
All in all it looks very good.